Keith hails Hibs strikers and tips Yogi to get mix Wright

KEITH WRIGHT reckons John Hughes will already know who he wants to spend his transfer kitty on this summer.

But the former Hibs player doesn't think the Easter Road manager will be planning on splashing out on bringing any new strikers to the club.

The Hibees legend, who spent six years with the club in the 1990s, can't speak highly enough of the current crop of strikers at Hughes' disposal and, while he conceded that Abdessalam Benjelloun might find himself surplus to requirements in the coming weeks, he believes the likes of Derek Riordan, Colin Nish and Anthony Stokes can be the key to success in 2010-11.

Wright accepts there are areas of the Hibs side that require strengthening, particularly adding height and a physical presence to the midfield, but says that the frontline have already shown their value.

Wright, who himself hit the back of the net 59 times for Hibs, said: "Over the course of the season, the strikers have really proved their worth to the club. John has got guys in there who will cause teams real problems and I think he has got them at the right age because they have still got good futures.

"If they're getting regular games and they're enjoying their football then they could have at least another three or four good years ahead of them at Hibs.

"Yogi will know that is the strongest area of the park for them right now and I think he will recognise the fact that there are other areas of the team that need strengthened.

"I think it would probably be in the best interests of both parties if Benji was allowed to move on because he will want to be playing regular first-team football and he's not getting that at the moment, and the money that Hibs bring in from that could be used to improve other areas of the park."

Wright admitted the final stages of the SPL season did not go to plan for Hughes and Co, but insisted that Hibs remain a work in progress for his old team-mate. Stressing that the criticism the team and management staff have taken in recent weeks has had little justification, he continued: "The team has finished in fourth place this season and progressed from previous campaigns. The way results went towards the end of the season meant that there was a disappointment but, at the end of the day, John's taking the team in the right direction.

"A few fans have been calling for John to go because they didn't like what they were watching in the final quarter of the season, but you can't argue with the fact that he has taken the club to fourth place in the table and got them into Europe.

"That's just the kind of reaction that you sometimes get from supporters – and I should know because I experienced it as a player myself. But you can't be changing your manager every season. It will be a work in progress for the next while and I think that getting fourth spot will have taken a lot of pressure off of John. He has only been in the job for ten months and in that time he has brought in players in the short term who have proved that they can do a job.

"He has done an excellent job in the short time that he has been at the club and I think things will continue to improve over the coming seasons."

Hughes will already be working on his targets for the summer transfer window and Wright believes the players he has brought in already prove he has an eye for talent.

"I am sure John will already have a long list of players that he is interested in. The fans have got to let him just get away behind the scenes to bring in the guys he wants – he's already proven that he has a real eye for a player by bringing in the likes of Liam Miller and Anthony Stokes.

"Colin Nish has been in great form over the last few weeks and he probably won't want the season to end, I'm sure he'll be buzzing. He will know himself that he has got to play that way on a regular basis if he wants to keep his place in the side because I think John sees him more as a link-up player.

"Stokes has had a great season but I think even he might agree that he could have done even better. That really says it all about how good a player he can actually be. Scoring 20 goals in a season for Hibs is a rare feat.

"As for Derek Riordan, he can always bring that bit of magic into a game at any time and will always score goals for Hibs."

Meanwhile, midfielder Merouane Zemmama has vowed to work his socks off over the summer break to ensure he's fit for the start of the new season.

The little Moroccan missed the final eight games of the season because of a knee injury sustained in the 3-1 win over Falkirk back in March. He has been working with the club physio in a bid to get back to full fitness in time to play his part in Hibs' Europa League qualifiers and Zemmama said: "I feel better after doing work with the physio and I hope to be fit as soon as I can because I miss all of the lads.

"I want to play again to make all of the fans happy."